Zodiac (2007)
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr, Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, Chloe Sevigny
Director: David Fincher
Writer: James Vanderbilt (screenplay), Robert Graysmith (book)
Producer: Louis Phillips, James Vanderbilt, Brad Fischer
Runtime: 2 Hrs 40 Minutes Approx.
Age Rating: 15
Plot - Based on the book by
Robert Graysmith, Zodiac
tells the story of a killer by
the same name who
terrorized San Fransisco with
seemingly random killings
during the 60's and 70's.
Review: By Ross Miller
It has been a very long time since I came across a film that within the first five minutes or so I immediately knew I was going to love. That is literally what happened, I went in, expecting a lot because of my love for the director and his other work, and began to watch a film I was expecting to dissappoint me. But like I said after a very short period of time I just knew this film was going to be right up my alley and I absolutely loved it.
On the surface Zodiac seems just like any other murder
mystery film, for the first hour or so we are given tons
of information and clues as to who the killer could be
and when, how and if he will strike again. But once we
really get immersed into the story we start to see that
this is so much more than your average film of this type.
We are introduced to the three main characters,
basically in turn but I noticed during your introduction to
each of them there was a glimpse of the others in the
background somewhere or their name was mentioned. I
thought this was a very nice way of setting up the
complete believability of the film without it staring you
in the face, without it going out of its way to make sure
you know who anyone is talking about at any one minute. This should feel confusing and infuriating but surprisingly, because of the way it is portrayed, it just engrosses you in the story and the characters even more.
Because of Fincher’s other similar film Seven, you could be forgiven to expect the same. In Seven the whole film relies on you wanting to find out who the killer is whereas with Zodiac it is almost the complete opposite. A perfect way to describe it would be that the film is 'less about the outcome and more about the process'. Even though the whole film is about trying to catch this killer Zodiac, you don’t once feel compelled to find out who it is. You are much more interested and much more distracted on concentrating on the investigators and the process of trying to find the killer. And for me that’s what sets this apart from other similar films, instead of it relying heavily on the outcome it immerses you so much in the present that you end up only caring once it arrives. But fans of the aforementioned Seven do not expect this to be the sequel. This holds up completely on its own and even though there are similarities it is completely devoid of comparison in terms of studying the two, for many reasons that can only be revealed after seeing the film yourself.
There are so many familiar faces in this film it is unbelievable. Every time you are shown a new location and character you will see a new face that you recognise. You may not know the name but you will know the face. You get into the last part of the movie, see a new character on screen and think, “Oh wow, he’s in this?!” The three leads in the film are superb, performances from Gyllenhaal, Ruffalo and Downey Jr are all stellar in their own unique way, each bringing their own style of acting to the screen but that still somehow manages to mix well together. It was fun to see these character actors (save for maybe Gyllenhaal) interact and play off of one another for what I believe is the first time (to my recollection anyway). We are made to feel, mostly with regards to Gyllenhaal’s character, the sense of mystery, intrigue and interest that the characters are feeling, and are left, along with the main characters, to try and piece together the puzzles ourselves.
I am a huge fan of David Fincher as a director, two of
his other films (Seven and Fight Club) have made
their way firmly into my top ten films of all time. His
directing style is unmistakable; techniques that are
favourites of his are used tenfold here. There was at
least five or six shots that spring to mind that were
absolutely gorgeous and oozed Fincher’s style. The
film’s lengthy runtime should have been a problem
but surprisingly it flies by and only seems half the
time. That probably has to do with the fact that I
loved the film as much as I did and because I was enjoying it so much my time at the cinema seemed more abrupt than it should have.
For the moment I can only think of one gripe that I have with this film. And it is a problem I have with a lot of films, so I can’t put the full blame on this. And that is at the very end of the film it fades to black and then a siege of information comes on screen, closing off the story, and you are forced to read it quickly to make sure it doesn’t disappear off screen before you have the chance to. There were a few other extremely minor problems that I had that are so small and insignificant that they aren’t even worth mentioning.
Overview
In my eyes this is the best film of 2007 so far. The film just matched my interest exactly and I just wanted more and more even after almost three hours. You will need to keep your wits about you because this a clear case of information overload. But if you don’t mind having to use at least a small section of your brain and don’t need everything spoon fed to you then this film will please you.
